The present invention relates to television meeting systems.
Japanese Patent No. 10-13799 shows an prior art television meeting system. As shown in FIG. 5 which is a block diagram showing the construction of the television telephone system disclosed therein, the illustrated prior art television telephone system comprises a camera 26, a transmitting unit 25 including a background extractor 27, an image data compressor 28 and a data synthesizer 29, a receiving unit 32 including a data demultiplexer 33, an image data expander 34, an image synthesizer 35 and a background data memory 36, a monitor 37 and communication lines 30 and 31.
The prior art television telephone set having the above construction operates as follows.
In the transmitting unit 25, the background extractor 27 splits an image picked up by the camera 26 into matrix array blocks, and sorts out the blocks into subject blocks more pronounced in inter-frame movement and background blocks less pronounced in inter-frame movement. The data synthesizer 29 feeds out a signal for discriminating the subject blocks and the background blocks from one another together with a compressed image signal of the subject block to the communication line 30. In the receiving unit 32, upon reception of the data of this type from the communication line, the image data expander 34 expands the compressed image signal of the subject blocks, and the image synthesizer 35 assigns a particular pattern signal to the background blocks. The monitor 37, to which a signal synthesized from the image signal of the subject blocks and the background pattern of the background blocks is supplied, clearly reproduces the image of the subject blocks, i.e., the image of a person, while displaying the image of the background blocks in the particular pattern.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-149287 shows a prior art video transmitting system. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the construction of the disclosed video transmitting system.
In this video transmitting system, as shown in the Figure, a video signal of video of a meeting room picked up by a television camera 38 and a video signal of background video stored in a background video out putting means 39 are inputted to a chromachy unit 40. The chromachy unit 40 separates the subject scene video and actual background video from the video of the meeting room with separating means, generates a cutting-out signal, cuts out the background video, and inserts the subject scene video in the background video. Subsequently, the chromachy unit 40 feeds out the video signal with subject scene video inserted in the background video to a television meeting unit 41. The video signal is then inputted via a communication circuit 42 and an opposite party station television meeting unit 43 to a monitor 44.
The system disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-13799 has the following problems.
A first problem is that this system synthesizes a particular pattern as the background image, and does not synthesize any desired motion picture image. This is so because the compressed data blocks are for providing a discrimination signal and irrelevant to actual image synthesis.
A second problem is that the system can not permit synthesis unless it is supported by the receiving side terminal unit. This is so because, like the case of the first problem, it is not possible to synthesize any pattern unless the discrimination signal can be understood.
The system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-149287 has the following problem.
A first problem is that the actual background image of scene object video should be used for chromachy. This is so because of the use of the chromachy unit as image separating/synthesizing means.
A second problem is that the use of a background memory in the terminal unit as means for accumulating background video data poses limitation on the kinds of data.
The present invention was made in view of the above problems in the prior art, and it has an object of providing a television meeting system, which permits a desired image selected by the user of the television meeting system to be used as background for meeting.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television meeting system in which image data and voice data are transmitted and received among a plurality of terminal units, wherein the terminal unit transmits and receives a video signal synthesized by combining desired background data selected by a user with taken-out image and voice.
The terminal unit includes a recorder in which desired background data selected by the user is preliminarily recorded. The terminal unit is connected to a data server for obtaining the desired background data selected by the user from the data server. The terminal unit obtains the desired background data selected by the user from the opposite side terminal unit. The terminal unit uses the image and voice taken out by each terminal unit itself as the desired background data selected by the user. The terminal unit compresses and multiplexes the video signal for transmission.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal unit in the television meeting system according to the above structure.
According to other aspect of the present invention, there is provided a television meeting system in which image data and voice data are transmitted and received among a plurality of terminal units,
the terminal unit comprising:
a camera for taking out motion picture image data;
a microphone for taking out voice data;
a monitor for displaying the motion picture image data;
a loud-speaker for reproducing the voice data;
a keyboard for taking out data selection data;
an image data synthesizer for synthesizing the image data;
a voice data synthesizer for synthesizing the voice data;
a data recorder for recording the received voice and image data;
a data controller for selecting the image data and voice data to be combined from the data received;
a compressor for compressing the voice and image data;
an expander for expanding the compressed voice and image data;
a multiplexer for multiplexing the compressed voice and image data, and delivering the compressed data as communication data;
a demultiplexer for demultiplexing or separating the received communication data into voice data and motion picture image data; and
a communicator for sending out and receiving the communication data to and from the opposite side terminal unit,
wherein the data controller extracts the selected data among the data recorded in the data recorder according to the received data selection data, and delivers the extracted data to the image data synthesizer and the voice data synthesizer,
the image data synthesizer synthesizes the data by combining the image data extracted from the data recorder as background with user s image data taken out from the camera,
the voice data synthesizer synthesizes data from user""s voice data taken out from the microphone and voice data extracted from the data recorder, and delivers the synthesized data to the compressor,
the compressor compresses the received image and voice data, and delivers the compressed data to the multiplexer,
the multiplexer multiplexes the compressed image and voice data as the communication data, and delivers this communication data to the communicator, and
the communicator transmits the received communication data via the communication line.
In the above system, the communicator receives communication data from the opposite side terminal unit via the communication line, and delivers the received data to the demultiplexer, the demultiplexer separates the received communication data into image data and voice data, and delivers the separated data to the expander, the expander expands the received motion picture image data and voice data, and delivers the motion picture image data to the monitor, eceiving the motion picture image data, the monitor displays the image, the expander delivers the expanded voice data to the loud-speaker, and receiving the voice data, the loud-speaker outputs the voice.
A plurality of terminal units defined in claim 1 are connected by a communication line to a data server, and when no data complying with the data selection data is present in the data recorder of the terminal unit, the data controller causes transfer of complying data from the data server via the communicator and the communication line to the data recorder.
During the television meeting operation or when the image and voice data are being received via the communication line, the image and voice data being received is accumulated in the data recorder 9 by the user s selection, and the data accumulated in the above operation is used as the background data.
Other objects and features will be clarified from the following description with reference to attached drawings.